Out of The Mouths of Babes - Blood Orange Cardamom Upside Down Cake

Children never cease to amaze me.  Just about the time I think they have been completely brainwashed by cartoons and video games they pop out with sudden flashes of insight regarding things you would never think they are paying attention to.

Such was my experience with my 8 year old nephew, Wyatt, at New Seasons Market.  He had been staying out here, so when I took him home I swung into the Happy Valley store on Sunnyside road to pick up a few things before depositing him at his abode.  New Seasons always has little brightly colored bits of paper with suggested recipes lying around the produce section; at least the Happy Valley store does.  When we first walked in, I took a quick look at some of their suggestions.  While I am a fan of golden beets, the red beat salad with cannellini beans just didn't sound all that appetizing to me.  Unbeknownst to me, my nephew was doing some perusing of his own. 

He walked up and handed me a bright orange piece of paper that read "Orange Cardamom Upside Down Cake".  I looked at him and asked, "What's this?"

He rolled his eyes and said, "It's a cake recipe Uncle Shane.  Duh."

I mouthed an "Oh" at which point he piped in with, "You should probably make it with blood oranges though, cause they taste better."

I looked at him a little strange at this point, wondering where, when and how he knew anything about blood oranges.  But before I could say anything he continued, "The recipe uses a cake mix, but I am sure you can make something much more delicious, cause cake mixes are gross."

At this point I started looking around for a hidden camera.  Who was this 8 year old adult person talking to me in the grocery store?

I regained a small amount of my composure and simply asked, "Do you know what cardamom is?"

To which he replied, "Of course.", adding, "It makes food taste better." with no small mount of self-satisfaction.  "But you have to wait to make it when I come and visit the next time."

AH-HA!   And there it is.

So here is the recipe from New Seasons Market, with some much needed changes. After all, my nephew speaks the truth.  Cake mixes are gross.  By "gross" I mean filled with all sorts of unnatural products that no human should really be eating.  Like DATEM, Monosodium Glutamate, Palm Kernel Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean oil.....  You get the idea.    An Upside down cake is a fairly simple type of cake, so using a cake mix is kind of silly anyway.  Think, "Making Cookies" with just a little more liquid, and you have the idea.

Blood Orange Cardamom Upside Down Cake

Topping: (or what will be the topping, but starts out as the bottom)
4 TB Unsalted Butter
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp ground Cardamom
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
4-5 medium Blood Oranges
optional - small can of Mandarin Oranges

Cake:
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Cardamom
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
 6 TB Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 tsp Orange Blossom Water
1/2 tsp Vanilla
zest of 1 Blood Orange

You will want to cover the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan with foil to ensure there is no pan leakage in the oven (the bottom seam is not exactly water tight - a fact I learned the hard way)

Place the butter in a small sauce pan and melt it over medium flame.

Once melted, add the brown sugar and salt, stirring to combine.

When the mixture is all nice an bubbly, add the Cardamom and stir again.

Pour the mixture into the prepared spring-form pan and spread around with a spatula.

Zest one of the oranges before you begin.

"Supreme" all the Blood Oranges. (slicing off the peel and cutting between the membranes to remove the segments)

Lay them either in concentric circles, or in a slightly overlapping circular pattern, the later will crate a sort of "Flower Petal" look.  (If you like, you can use 4 Blood Oranges and add optional mandarin oranges around the edge, just for contrast)

OK, now on with the cake. So preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Combine AP Flour, Cardamom, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt in a small bowl, and whisk to combine.

Combine Butter, Brown Sugar, and Granulated Sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the Eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Measure out the Buttermilk and add the Orange Blossom Water, Vanilla and Orange Zest.

Add half of the flour mixture, blending well, followed by the buttermilk mixture and continue beating.

Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until nice and thick.

Carefully spoon the batter into the spring-form pan, spreading gently with a spatula if necessary.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Immediately turn the pan upside down onto a cake plate.

Remove the pan and Voila!

One Blood Orange Cardamom Upside Down Cake!

Tasty and kind of Perty.  :)
 

Mangia!!
~~

Wordless Wednesday - Spiced Cocoa Cake

~~

Ready, Willing and Æble - Æbleskiver (Ebelskiver)

Woe to the "pancake puff".... (American reinvention, repackaging and mass marketing as it's finest)  OYE!

Let me give ya a little "Danish History" regarding Aebleskiver ('aebleskive' being the singular form). Truth be known, I don't think anyone really knows how or why these Danish treats have taken on a spherical form.  Maybe it's because Danes are such well rounded individuals and it shows in their food.  ;)  har-dee-har-har

Oh there are legends aplenty, especially on the internet, about vikings doing their "triple P" thing, (Plundering, Pillaging and Pilfering) all resulting in several dented shields and/or horned helmets.  After which, since it must have been an early morning raid and the cook just happened to forget the pots and pans, they resorted to cooking pancakes on their dented shields and helmets.  Since the batter naturally ran into the dents, you have the first aebleskiver.  Hmmmmmm.  I find this fairly unlikely, since most Viking era shields were made of wood planks held together with bands of metal.  Wood does not make a good cooking vessel, especially over an open fire. Then again, Vikings didn't have horns on their helmets either.  Those were products of romantic period art, drawing on ancient Greek descriptions of ceremonial dress.  I know, Blah blah blah blah.... LOL

More than likely, since the Nederlands and Denmark are so close in proximity, the Dutch Poffertjes simply made their way north....  Either that, or the Aebleskiver made it's way south.  One or the other.  Though Poffertjes tend to be more ovoid in shape, rather than spherical, the idea is the same.  And just as Proffertjes require a special pan, so to does an Aebleskive.  I am not sure if the Proffertjes pan has a specific name, but an Aebleskiver pan is called a "munk" pan, and is also used to cook Munker (a yeasted batter) as well as Aebleskiver (baking soda and egg white batter).  Which also begs the question, "Which came first, the Munker or the Aebleskiver?" These pans are usually made of cast iron though there are non-stick aluminum versions available at Fantes and there is even an "Electric Skillet" version floating around on the net.

Dubious historical data aside, and probably more information about Vikings than anyone would want to know before breakfast, I just wanted to set the record straight regarding this silly "pancake puff" thing.  It's not a new idea, its been around for centuries... and personally, since I was an idiot and bought one so I could cook 14 at a time instead of only 7, those pans are terrible.  They heat unevenly and casting is so bad it will take eons for them to become properly seasoned. (I gave it to the Goodwill and spent 8 dollars less on a decent one from Fantes)

So what exactly is this Aebleskiver?  Aebleskivers are as sort of hybrid between a doughnut and a pancake with a little bit of waffle DNA thrown in for good measure.  I have heard, and read, that they are traditionally filled with apple slices or jelly.  Personally, I have never had, nor made, them that way but I am intrigued by the idea, however suspicious I may be about sticky goo winding up in the bottom of my Monk pan.  The dents, or holes are about 2 1/4 inches across and about 1 inch deep, giving you a nice "almost" golf ball sized hunk of fried, butter rich, pancake batter that is perfect with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and served along side raspberry preserves, or your favorite cane berry. (though my personal favorites are bilberry, huckleberry or marionberry)

Growing up, these were the presage of Christmas to come, for they were, and are, part of a nutritious Christmas Eve morning's breakfast.  We all knew that once the Aebleskivers hit the table, it was only 24 hours before Christmas morning arrived.  Santa would be coming down the chimney and the stockings would be filled with all sorts of hard to find winter goodies, like tangerines, nuts, various dried fruits and such. (modern day shipping has made these special winter treats more commonplace in cold climates than they were when I was a young pup)

So let's hear it for the Æbleskiver! (pronounced AY-blah-skee-wah)  The herald of Christmas!

Æbleskiver

2 Large Eggs - Separated (or 3 Medium Eggs)
1 tsp Granulated Sugar
2 cups of Buttermilk
3 TB Melted Butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 Cups AP-Flour
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Mace
1/4 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter

Separate the eggs, whisking the yolks to break them up a little. (I always separate the yolks into a pouring pitcher)

Then add the sugar to the yolks and whisk until pale and thick.

Add Buttermilk, Melted Butter and Salt, stirring until well combined

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and spices with a whisk.

Add flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and stir until smooth.

In another clean bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tarter until stiff peaks form.

Fold egg whites into batter in two batches.

Warm aebleskiver pan on medium heat (You will probably have to adjust heat after the first batch, I always burn the first batch)
Add a small amount of vegetable oil, butter or lard to each one of the seven indentions.

Fill each indention only about 2/3 full.

(trust me, they will raise and fill the holes)

Cook until bubbly on top (3-4 minutes), just like regular pancakes, then, utilizing the traditional knitting needle, a bamboo skewer, or my favorite, a fondue fork,

turn the dough balls over to obtain a round shape. (This takes a little practice)

Cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Serve with traditional Raspberry preserves (or Bilberry) and confectioners' sugar.

Lingonberry, while Swedish, also goes very nicely as well as Black Current and, as I mentioned, Hucklberry, Marionberry or Bilberry.
They may also be served in American fashion with Maple syrup (I prefer Grade B to Grade A Dark amber)

Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår!!

Spis!!  er, I mean...  Mangia!!
~~

You Catch More Aunts with Honey - Baklava

My aunts have been visiting over the last week. One from Texas and one from Seattle. It's been awesome seeing them after being in SoCal for so long. Somehow in our conversations, Greek food came up. As it turns out, both of my aunts are crazy for Greek food. So tomorrow I am preparing a Greek'ish Feast of things like Spanakopita, Hummus, Sopa Avgo Lemono and Kibbeh. But one should ALWAYS prepare a dessert.

Thus, Baklava arrived on the menu. Normally, I make this around the Holiday Season, but I had too many things on my plate last year. So it's the perfect time to finally get down to making a big pan. I find that I ALWAYS need to make a big pan of it, for it seems to disappear as if by magic.

The real secret to Baklava is speed. The ingredient list is actually fairly simple... nuts, a little sugar, spices and filo dough... all held together with a TON of butter... Then soaked in honey syrup. Easy... Lemme show ya.... You'll see...

Baklava

3 Cups Walnuts
2 Cups Almonds
1 Cup Pistachios
4 TB Granulated Sugar
4 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Mace
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
2 tsp dried Orange Zest
2 lbs Filo (The Filo I buy contains 22 sheets per lb, so 44 sheets total)
1 lb Unsalted Butter
1 half-Sheet Jelly Roll Pan (it's the same size as the Filo)
1 large Pastry Brush

Honey-Lemon Sauce
1 1/2 cups Orange blossom Honey
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
1 cup Water
1 TB Orange Blossom Water
1 tsp Rose Water

Grind all nuts and place in a medium sized bowl, add sugar, spices and zest.

OK, now is when I let you in on a little secret ingredient of mine. I did not place this in the ingredient list because they can be a little hard to find, and Baklava is just as good without them. I am referring to this.....

1 tsp Ground Rose Hips. (Just a little something extra)

After you have combined all your ingredients in the bowl, you have 2 options..... Stir with a spoon....

or cover with a lid, or plastic wrap with a rubber band to secure it, and shake the bejeezus out of it.

There, see? Filling is all done.

OK, let's set up the assembly station......
Melt Butter in a sauce pan or in a measuring cup in the microwave and grab a pastry brush. The bigger the better. It will allow you to apply butter to the 'leaves' at greater speed, thus reducing the possibility of the dough leaves drying out. (it takes 10 minutes to assemble Baklava)

Remove the Filo from the refrigerator and grab the half-sheet pan, set butter to the side of the pan then unwrap your Filo and unroll onto work surface.

Brush Pan with a little butter

Then lay down the first sheet,

brush with butter and lay down the second sheet....

Continue this until you have laid down 15 sheets.

Spread 1/2 of the nut mixture over the 15th sheet and drizzle with butter from the pastry brush.

Brush your next sheet on the stack, then lay it over (Butter side down) this will adhere it to the nut mixture a little better.

Brush the side facing up and lay down your next sheet, continue brushing with butter and laying down more sheets until you lay down another 12 sheets. (you will have to open your second roll of Filo to finish this off)

Spread the remaining nut mixture and drizzle with a little butter.

Again, butter your next Filo sheet, lay it (butter side down) and brush the up facing side too.

Continue laying sheets with butter until you run out of Filo sheets. (about 17 sheets)

Using a VERY sharp knife, score your baklava by cutting 1/2 way through it (not all the way) I like to use a diamond pattern, but square is fine too.

Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before starting the syrup.


Lemon Honey Syrup
Pour Honey, Lemon Juice and Water into a large sauce pan (honey foams when boiling)

Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until reduced to about 2 3/4 cups of liquid.

Seriously, watch for boil over... If the foaming gets too high, simply remove from the heat momentarily until the foam subsides...

Then return to the heat and continue reducing.

After the syrup has been reduced enough, remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Add the Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water, stirring to combine.

Place syrup in a container you can easily pour from.

Pour hot syrup over the cooled Baklava.

Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour for the syrup to be absorbed by the pastry, then cut all the way through with a sharp knife.

Serve to your aunts with a fresh flower. (aunts like flowers) :)

MMMMM Flaky Goodness.

Mangia!!
~~